As if it’s not enough for Hollywood to be taking on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby or Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, now one of the greatest novels ever written, Great Expectations by the one and only Charles Dickens, is the next scheduled adaptation of a literary classic. Hopefully, this time Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke will be nowhere near the project!
However, Mike Newell (Prince of Persia) has his eye on Helena Bonham Carter for the famous role of recluse Miss Havishman, “the wealthy spinster who never takes off her wedding dress,” according to NDTV Movies. Also, Steven Spielberg’s upcoming War Horse star Jeremy Irvine, is in talks for the lead role of Pip, “an orphan who rises up through society to become a gentleman thanks to an unknown benefactor. Through most of his life, he’s also obsessed with the cruel and beautiful Estella, who he’s first introduced to via her guardian, Miss Havisham,” as per Empire Online.
Coming off her second Oscar nomination, Bonham Carter is no stranger to period pieces or extravagant costumes since appearing in The King’s Speech, Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series.
“The key role of Estella,” says Cinema Blend, “the young girl who is Miss Havisham’s ward and whom Pip falls in love with at a young age, has yet to be cast.” With a slew of ingénue it-girls frolicking about, any number of today’s young stars could be cast in the part. Perhaps we could see more from Emma Watson (My Week with Marilyn), a young cameo of Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Amanda Seyfried (Red Riding Hood), or Emily Browning (Sucker Punch).
The Dickensian classic hasn’t appeared on the big screen since Alfonso Cuaron’s version in 1998 with Paltrow, Hawke, the late Anne Bancroft, Hank Azaria, and Robert De Niro (see poster to the right) in a revamped modern-day retelling that failed to meet critics’ expectations. In 1946, Lawrence of Arabia director David Lean earned as Oscar nomination for his adaptation starring Valerie Hobson, John Mills, and Tony Wager. The story’s film history even goes back as far as 1934, which was directed by Stuart Walker. He eventually followed that up with another Dickens’ story, Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Variety also tell us that “production is expected to start this fall,” and it is “slated for a 2012 release as part of a year-long celebration of Dickens’ bicentenary.” That means Dickens’ 200th birthday!
On a side note, it was recently announced that House star Hugh Laurie has joined Mr. Pip in the lead role, “the story of a volunteer substitute teacher on a war-torn island who reads the Dickens novel [Great Expectations] to his class.”
This is certainly a story that Movie Buzzers will be following (since it’s my absolute favorite novel of all time!)! What do you think of the news surrounding this movie in-development? Have we seen enough of Dickens on film?
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